This invention relates generally to board games and more particularly concerns game boards which fold from a playing configuration to a smaller storage configuration.
Presently known folding game boards typically consist of a plurality of cardboard panels which fold along paper seams connecting the panels together. Particularly with respect to games played by younger children, the forces exerted on the panels eventually result in the separation of the seaming material from the board or the tearing of the material along the seam. Even in the exercise of careful use of a board, repetitive folding and unfolding causes the seaming material to crease and eventually to split a process which, once begun, results in rapid deterioration across the entire seam.
The use of a non-folding board is not a satisfactory solution to this problem since the box containing the game must then be two and even four times its otherwise necessary size in order to accommodate the board. This increases the cost of the game to the consumer as well as shelf space to both the consumer and the retailer.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a folding game board in which the folding edges of the board will not deteriorate as a result of repetitive folding and unfolding. A similar object of this invention is to provide a game board having folding edges which will not deteriorate or separate despite external forces applied to the board which reasonably exceed the forces normally anticipated in its use. Another object of this invention is to provide a folding game board which is of unitary or integral construction. A further object of this invention is to provide a folding game board made of a single piece of plastic. And it is an object of this invention to provide a folding game board which friction locks in its folded condition.